Fried Shrimp, Steamed Shrimp, Stuffed Shrimp...Shrimp Salad! (Or a Variation Thereof)

Ranked high on my list of favorite things to eat is shrimp. If it was possible to add shrimp to everything I would! They're a super easy way to get protein in your diet, pair well with lots of things, and cook in ten minutes or less on their own.

Over the last few weeks I've made a few quick and easy shrimp recipes that are great for taking to work. Two of them were classified as salads and the other was a rice dish.

I'm not the greatest at making up recipes on my own, so I love to try ones out from Pinterest, cookbooks, and just by looking in a search engine if I have a few ingredients in my head that I want to figure out how to pair in an interesting way. First up on this shrimp adventure is Creamy Parmesan Shrimp and Orzo, a dish made in 30 minutes, perfect for the on-the-go person. The recipe can be found here:
http://www.food.com/recipe/creamy-parmesan-shrimp-and-orzo-378971.

This was very good. You get the nice cheesy taste without it being too rich and it's not over-seasoned. I didn't have any fresh basil on hand so I used dried but if you can get fresh I would recommend it for even better flavor and to add a little color to the plate.

Next is a variation on a recipe by the Pioneer Woman. The original is for Quinoa with Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella and can be found here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2014/05/quinoa-with-tomato-basil-and-mozzarella/. I'll eventually make this version, but at the end she suggests also trying a Greek version, which is what I decided to do. Her recipe does not call for any protein but I figured shrimp would taste pretty darn good. The only part of the original recipe I followed were the measurements and cook time for the quinoa, as well as spreading it out on a baking sheet to cool. I had never tried that before and was surprised at how fast it did indeed cool off. After this part of the recipe I improvised.

To make a Greek version simply place the quinoa in a large bowl, add in thinly sliced red onion, diced cucumber, shrimp, feta cheese, a little salt and pepper, and your favorite Greek dressing. You could get fancy like the Pioneer Woman and make your own but in the interest of time I used store bought and the taste did not suffer. Also feel free to add other things found in traditional Greek salads like tomatoes and olives.

Ironically, I did not particularly care for this dish. There was nothing inherently wrong with it, I just wasn't really feeling it after making a huge batch of it, which was unfortunate. But, luckily for me, the boy loved it and ate it all. So at least it didn't go to waste :)

Yesterday for "lunch" at 0400 at work I decided to make a Greek Salad with shrimp that I knew I would eat. Simply cook some shrimp in olive oil with salt and pepper on the stove top, chill, and then toss with your favorite greens, feta, and Greek dressing. I left out the other vegetables this time but feel free to add whatever you like!